Nola Bright, leader of W. Side NAACP

Longtime Chicago community activist Nola Bright was tough inprinciple, but friends say she had a heart of gold.

Mrs. Bright, 71, who died of cancer Saturday at NorthwesternMemorial Hospital, was president and former executive director of theWest Side branch of the NAACP, an organization to which she dedicatedmost of her adult life.

"Nola was cryptic," said Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.), who workedwith Mrs. Bright for 35 years. "She would chide people in a way. Shewould try and project a demeanor of toughness about herself that inmany instances was just the opposite of the way she really was."

Mrs. Bright was born in Benoit, Miss. She migrated in 1948 toChicago, …